NSFW Quick Review: ‘Light Of The Moon’

Light of the Moon is an anthology of horror and Ero Guro stories by underground mangaka Kazuichi Hanawa. As a fan of Shintaro Kago‘s Ero Guro work and 1970s manga, I wanted to check out Light of the Moon.

NSFW Content Warning

The stories in the book are most similar to The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo. Both draw from the tradition of lavishly illustrated Japanese woodblock prints and can conjure sensual nightmare imagery. The art is absolutely gorgeous and Hanawa excels at juxtaposing beautiful forms with creepy insects and stylized gore. The only critique is that some of Hanawa’s male and female characters can look similar, which leads to confusion in readability.

It’s a testament to Hanawa’s art that I was engrossed with the stories without being too grossed out. Typically, anything involving scatophilia is a hard pass — but Hanawa was able to render even the most abhorrent ideas in an aesthetically sophisticated manner.

Light of the Moon has a wide variety of stories that explore medieval legends, sexual taboos, and mysticism in challenging and experimental art. Hanawa fully admits, by breaking the fourth wall, that some of the stories are cramped for space and have rushed endings. So, while individual stories can be hit-or-miss, the overall artistic quality is one of a kind. Light of the Moon is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of the cultured Ero Guro collector.

Light of the Moon is available now from The Mansion Press.